《1945年启示录：德累斯顿的毁灭》——签名版——（带书套的特别收藏版）

Frst published, April 30, 1963.  At 10 p.m. on February 13—14, 1945, the Master Bomber broadcast the cryptic order: ‘Controller to Plate-Rack Force: Come in and bomb glow of red T.I.s as planned.’ The ill-famed R.A.F. attack on Dresden had begun. The target city was among Germany’s largest, but had little military or industrial value. It was a center for the evacuation of wounded servicemen, and schools, restaurants, and public buildings had been converted into hospitals.

The authorities expected that this, a city often compared with Florence for its graceful Baroque style, would be spared. By 1945 the legend was deeply entrenched that Dresden would never be bombed. It was not to be. In February 1945 with the war’s political and military directors meeting at Yalta in the Crimea, Mr Winston Churchill urgently needed some display of his offensive strength and of his willingness to assist the Russians in their drive westwards. Dresden just seven miles behind the eastern Front, became the victim of Mr Churchill’s desire for a spectacular ‘shattering blow’. As things turned out this, the most crushing air-raid of the war, was not delivered until the Yalta conference ended.

这座城市毫无防备，甚至德国空军的夜间战斗机部队也停飞了。没有合适的防空洞。德累斯顿除了 63 万居民外，还收容了来自西里西亚、东普鲁士和德国西部的数十万难民。当晚，多达十万人甚至更多人在两三个小时内被活活烧死。然而，直到 1963 年本书第一版出版之前，盟军的战争史几乎从未记载过这次空袭。这场悲剧被蒙上了一层阴影。

外国对这次情人节大屠杀的强烈反感刺激了英国首相——他下令进行这次屠杀——甚至在战争结束前就给他的参谋长写了一封愤怒的备忘录，粗鲁地说道“德累斯顿的毁灭仍然是对盟军轰炸行为的严重质疑”。副标题就是从这个令人难以忘怀的备忘录中摘录出来的。这是第一次完整地讲述了这次残酷打击的历史背景及其意想不到的政治后果，没有任何遗漏。

320 页
Special Collector’s editon. With original colour photographs, hardback.